Rosalind Byrd, 2024 Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) candidate, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for her undergraduate education, where she majored in anthropology, and then received a Master of Arts in medical sciences from Loyola University Chicago. She spent a year working as a clinic informatics specialist for a geriatric primary care clinic before deciding to attend medical school. Rosalind is the first person in her family to pursue an advanced degree and reflects, "There has been a great deal of learning as I go along throughout this process. But with the support of my family, I am elated to reach the next step in accomplishing my lifelong dream.”
Rosalind has a passion for public health. Her research explores how intersectionality affects one’s lived experiences and, consequently, one’s health. She adds, “During my time at Emory, I have grown as an advocate, clinician, and researcher. Speaking up to bring attention to issues impacting myself and other students has given me the confidence to champion my patients' needs, too. As a person who thrives being in the community of others, I have been fortunate to have my support system expand beyond the School of Medicine and into the broader Atlanta community.”
For the last three years, Rosalind has been dating Ryon Arrington, MBA, also a 2024 MD candidate at Emory. The two are matching as a couple. Couples match allows two residency applicants to link their rank order lists, usually to obtain positions in the same geographic location. They hope to match somewhere that supports internal medicine for Rosalind and cardiothoracic surgery for Ryon.
Ryon is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Washington University in St. Louis where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and molecular biology. Ryon is a first-generation college student and attributes much of his success to his family, saying “growing up in the city of Saint Louis, my family focused on education as a means of changing my circumstances.” While he was finishing his undergraduate degree, Ryon’s stepfather became ill which caused him to take some time off between college and medical school. During that time, he worked in a dermatology office as a micrographically oriented histographic surgical technician and at Apple with the Genius Bar.
One of Ryon’s mentors received his PhD from Emory and recommended he apply. Ryon was instantly taken with Emory's exciting atmosphere, saying, “On my interview day, we toured through Grady Memorial Hospital, and what I saw—the patients and the communication amongst people—reminded me of my early days in the city of St. Louis, and I knew I wanted to attend Emory.”
Although Ryon and Rosalind both knew of each other at Washington University, it wasn’t until they came to Emory that they found each other. Rosalind remembers that they “knew of each other but ran in different social circles." However, this changed after receiving their acceptance letters from Emory. Rosalind adds, “We both ended up at Emory and were good friends before dating,” The two began to hang out and study. “We studied for anatomy, cardiology, Step 1, and a lot of other things together, and, at the time neither one of us expressed interest in the other,” says Ryon. During the 3rd year clerkships, Ryon and Rosalind began dating.
Some of the couple’s most memorable moments came from exploring the city with their friends at Emory. Ryon says, “We spent time going to new wineries and breweries but also just exploring the city of Atlanta for everything it has to offer—food, parks, the aquarium, the Beltline, etc.” Atlanta’s diverse attractions made it easy to relax and bolster their professional development. "I was also able to pursue my professional goals like research and presenting at national conferences for cardiothoracic surgery and mentoring students interested in college and medicine from underserved communities,” says Ryon.
“Something that I noticed about Emory is that there is excellence in just about every facet,” observes Ryon. While in medical school, he also received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Emory’s Goizueta Business School in 2023. This experience deepened Ryon’s appreciation of the business side of health care, which will be useful as he begins his residency training and pursues leadership roles. He also received the Medical Student Diversity Scholarship from the American Assocation for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), a travel scholarship from the Southern Thoracic Surgery Assocation (STSA), as well as the Biosense Webster Scholarship Award from the Association of Black Cardiologists.
Rosalind emphasizes, “the relationships I have gained during the past four years have sustained me during some of the toughest experiences in my life. It has been such a privilege to learn and grow here. No matter where we end up for residency, I will be eternally grateful for the friends and mentors here that have become family.”
During Match Day they learned they both matched at Emory - Ryon in thoracic surgery and Rosalind in internal medicine.